Mushrooms

Mushrooms, our family loves them, forage for them, take pictures of them .......

Growing up in our family we had many mushroom picking adventures.  It was a day that my parents gathered all of us children (4) and packed a picnic lunch, some homemade Atvar ( fruit juice), pickled eggs, cheese, homemade bread and more.   Off we went for the day to  pick the mushrooms that were in season.  We picked certain kinds in the Spring and others in the Fall.  Memories of this time in my life always make me smile.  My brother and sisters and I had fun running in the mountains, playing in the streams, picking berries along the paths and just being children.  My  Mother or Father would point out the mushrooms that we were there to find, and once we got older we were then able to help pick the mushrooms.  After the picking we head back home to clean and process them for either pickled or canned to use for meals  later in the year.  A favourite of our family was corral mushrooms sauteed in a bit of butter with onions and garlic and sliced potatoes, any leftovers were  scrambled the next morning with eggs.   I am slowly learning what species and what time of the year mushrooms grow here on the West Coast rain forest of BC. In the last 5 years I have managed to  find Shaggy Manes,  Puff Balls and Morels and a few Coral mushrooms on a hike one day.

Last night my daughter Anastasia asked me to cook up one of her favourite dishes, Stuffed  Portobello Mushrooms - these are stuffed with  mozzarella, artichokes, Parmesan cheese and more.

PORTOBELLO MUSHROOMS STUFFED WITH ARTICHOKES

Dinner of Artichoke stuffed Portobello Mushroom

with a side of pearl couscous.

Ingredients you will need.

Sauteed onion, garlic and mushroom stems

Delicious just like this....smells so good already.

Cream cheese, sour cream and mayonnaise added.

Shredded cheeses  and Boursin cheese added and mixed,

ready for stuffing into the  Portobellos.

 Almost there.....



Top with thinly sliced tomatoes and more mozzarella

or  Parmesan

STUFFED PORTOBELLO MUSHROOMS

5   Portobello mushrooms

1 can artichoke hearts (not marinated),  chopped

1 cup mozzarella cheese, grated

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

2 Tbsp cream cheese (I use light)

3 Tbsp  mayonnaise (I use light)

1 1/2 Tbsp Boursin cheese (herb & garlic) - optional see note below

2-3 Tbsp sour cream (I use light)

1-2 Tbsp butter or olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

Tabasco sauce, to  your taste

Salt, pepper to taste

 Remove stems from the Portobellos, and chop finely.  Place the mushroom caps on a greased

 cookie sheet, set aside.

 Make filling by chopping and sauteing the onion and garlic in the butter,

add the mushroom stems and saute another 3-4 minutes.   Cool slightly.

Meanwhile in a large bowl, combine the shredded cheeses, sour cream, cream cheese.

Add Tabasco and the cooled mushroom/onion/garlic, artichoke hearts

Season to taste with salt and pepper

With a spoon top the Portobello caps with the filling,  top with thinly sliced tomatoes.

Sprinkle with either more mozzarella or Parmesan cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 30 minutes.

Serve with either couscous, rice or potatoes and a side salad.



*Note:  I used the Boursin - had some left over from Christmas Day

Love, Peace and Joy

Love
to make your memories brighter...
Peace
to make your heart at rest...
Joy
to make your celebration wonderful and really blessed.

Happy New Year



Baking Day

It is getting very close to Christmas, I am not stressing at all.  Today I baked up some beautiful baquettes from a new book I received 'Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day' I love this book.  The method is so easy and you can have a fresh loaf of bread in a matter of minutes.

Artisan Herb Baguette pictured below....will be spreading some Persian Feta spread on this tonight.

The Herb Baguettes out of the oven....

Sourdough Flax Waffles

 

With some of the beautiful Sourdough Starter that I have

 I baked up some waffles to take to my daughter's place.

They are moving this weekend and this will  make a very nice lunch.

Along with the Herb Baguettes and Persian Feta spread.

 

What's for Dinner Tonight

 As a mother and a wife I'm always thinking about what to feed my family.  Tonight's meal will consist of  Cottage Cheese Sour Dough Crepes and a Romaine Salad dresseed in a favorite homemade dressing of mine.

My friend Susan  shared some of her  beautiful Sour Dough Starter.  I have been enjoying  (and so has the family) some very nice Sour Dough Bread, Sour Dough Rye Bread among others.  Since you need to feed the starter every three of four days I seem to have plenty of very nice starter I can now ' play with'.  Yesterday I decided to make some Sour Dough Crepes which (always thinking ahead)  I would then fill with cottage cheese for  a dinner this week.  Well today is the day.

The crepes were very easy and simple to make and the filling even simpler. 

SOUR DOUGH CREPES   WITH COTTAGE CHEESE FILLING

These will be baked in a 350 degree oven for approximately

30-45 minutes

Ingredients you will need

Place filling onto crepe (about 1 tablespoon or more)

depending on the size - do not overfill

 Fold crepe over filling starting at bottom end,

then fold in sides...

 Continue to roll up the crepe

 

Place in  baking dish that has some cream and a bit

of  butter in the bottom

 



Continue to fill and roll the rest of the crepes

filling your baking dish

 If making earlier in the day, cover with plastic wrap

and place in fridge until you want to bake.

This also can be covered with plastic and aluminum foil

and put in the freezer for later use.

  If freezing just remove plastic, cover with foil and

bake from frozen at 350 for approximately 45 minutes.

Any crepes that don't fit in the pan, just wrap in either wax paper

or plastic wrap and freeze.  Then just place in  baking dish

and cover with whatever sauce you like.

 

 

RECIPE

 

Sour Dough Crepes

 

Yield : about 10-16 crepes

 

1 cup sour dough starter

3 eggs

3 tablespoons butter

3 pinches of salt

 milk to thin (1/4 cup or so)

In medium sized bowl, whisk the eggs, melted butter and salt  until combined.

Add this to the sourdough starter in a larger bowl.  Mix well.

 

Add milk until you get a thin batter.

Grease skillet lightly

 Pour about 1/4 cup of the batter into your hot skillet, roll it around

to coat the bottom of the skillet and let  cook until browning around

the edges.  Flip carefully and brown other side for about 1 min

Place on tray and continue until all batter is used up.

 

 Cottage cheese filling

 

2 cups dry cottage cheese

 3 eggs, beaten

1/4 teaspoon salt

 

I like to freeze the cottage cheese, then thaw it and

squeeze out all moisture (freezing the cottage cheese breaks it down into finer texture) and place in a medium sized bowl.

Add the beaten eggs and salt , and mix well.  Set aside

 

   Filling your crepes

 

  *See photo above

Take one cooked crepe and  place about a tablespoon of the cottage cheese filling at the

bottom end.

Fold the crepe over the cheese and then fold in sides and continue to roll up.

 Place in a pan that has been covered with a bit of cream and butter

Continue filling the crepes and filling your baking pan.

Pour some more cream over top and drizzle with melted butter.

 Cover  pan with foil for the first 30 minutes, uncover for the last minutes of baking.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes

Enjoy

 

*  Some like to serve these with jam, but we prefer to add

sour cream or yogurt to ours and if you like, a bit more melted  butter.

I have also added some tomato sauce to some of the cream and made it more

of a rose sauce.

 

  I always make extra crepes when making up a batch or breakfast, this way they are already done

and all I have to do is decide on what to fill them with!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Christmas Foods - Sweet and Savoury

December  19, 2012

There are 5 more days until Christmas Day and it's time to make a few more treats for my family and friends.  Today was an  'in day' the snow was coming down quite heavily along with the winds to blow it all around.  Beautiful sight if one is staying home but not so good if you are on the roads.

Each  year and for many years now I have made one of the family's favorite sweet snacks  -                                                  Poppycock

It's crunchy, salty and sweet made with home popped popcorn (made the old fashioned way - in a pot with oil and a bit of butter) another favorite that the family always ask me to make for them. 
We had popcorn as a snack yesterday so with the leftovers I decided to make my Poppycock.

Pam's Poppycock

Ingredients you will need.

 

 

The  brown sugar, corn syrup and  butter  heating up to a boil

 

 Once the butter, sugar and corn syrup have come

to a boil, stir to make sure it all comes together and

is smooth.

 Pour this over the popcorn, nut mixture and mix well

with a greased spoon.  Scoop out onto greased pans

and put into the oven

Set your oven to  200 degrees

  Scoop mixture onto  greased pans and place in

the 200 degree oven, for   30 minutes, mixing every

10-12 minutes.

    Take out from oven and let cool, break into pieces

and store in jars or plastic bags.

Enjoy

 

RECIPE  For POPPYCOCK

 5- 8 cups  popcorn

 1-2 cups nuts

 (I used mixed but it can be your choice)

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup corn syrup

(any kind - light or dark)

1/2 cup butter

 Pinch cream of tartar

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

 

 In a large bowl add  your popcorn and nuts,  mix together

 In a medium saucepan, combine the butter, brown sugar and corn syrup

 bring to a boil and stir until smooth.

Take off stove and add the cream of tartar and  baking soda

   Pour over the nuts and popcorn, stir well and then

divide mixture onto two large baking sheets that have been

greased.

 Place in 200 degree oven for  30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes

After the  30 minutes, removed from oven and let cool, once cooled

break up into pieces and store in clean glass jars or plastic Ziploc bags.

I usually keep mine in gallon glass jars.

 

 

When making my Poppycock today, I forgot to add the  baking soda - no worries it still came out crispy and sweet!

 

Enjoy with a cup of your favorite tea or coffee.

 

 

 

Holidays means slowing down moving at a more relaxed pace....

On those days when  everyone seems to get up at a different time of the morning, some sleeping in longer than others,  breakfast is at a later time and then lunch ends up a bit later as well.

 

I like to make up a batch of Pizza Bun Mix that I remember my Mother making and having in the fridge ready for us to put on some bread/buns and toast up at our leisure.

I remember these buns being served at many family gatherings, baby showers, wedding showers, they are always a hit with both kids and adults - if you have a batch of the mix in the fridge you are always ready for visitors!

 

So today I decided to mix up a batch of

Pizza Bun Mix

 

 

Ingredients you will need to make the Pizza Bun Mix

Put all ingredients in a bowl, mix until  combined

add salt and pepper to taste.

Spread mixture on bun/bread   - enough to cover the

bun/bread  and place in oven/toaster oven

Bake at 350 degrees for 5-9 minutes and then

broil until bubbly

 Pizza Bun, a nice snack, a meal if you add a bowl of

homemade soup or even with a salad.

Great for those on the go!

 

Note:  I have also added black olives and mozzarella cheese

 to the original recipe - feel free to change it up in

any way that your family likes.

 

RECIPE

 

  PIZZA BUN MIX

 

 1 medium onion, chopped fine

1/2 green pepper, chopped fine

1 can mushrooms  (stems & pieces) chopped fine

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 can tomato paste

1 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, grated

1/4 - 1/2 cup oil

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl.   Spread some of the mixture

onto buns or bread and bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes and

broil until bubbly.

 

NOTE:  I have substituted red pepper for the green and shallots for the onion

 

 

 

 

SALADS

 

 Our family loves raw vegetables and salads so we  will have one or the other

with our lunch or supper.  This salad is  one of the family's favorite and can be made ahead of time: 

 

 7 Layer Salad

 

 

 

The completed salad

 

The ingredients you will need.

 

Slice your lettuce as 'semi' fine

Dice the celery

 Dice the green pepper

 Dice the onion, then place in order - lettuce, celery, green pepper

and onion

In a small bowl mix up  your dressing of Mayonnaise and grown sugar

 

Spread the dressing over layers of vegetables,

top with the drained peas and shredded cheese.

Cover and set in fridge for at least 1 hour or better

4 hours .

Serve, making sure to scoop down to the bottom

getting a bit of each layered vegetable.

Enjoy!

 

 

RECIPE

7 LAYER SALAD

 

1 head lettuce, shredded

1 cup celery, diced

1 large green pepper, diced (red is good too)

1 medium onion, diced

1 16- oz can  peas drained

Dressing

1 - 11/2 cups mayonnaise (lite works too)

2  tablespoons brown sugar

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

 

In large bowl, layer your vegetables,

 top with the mayonnaise dressing

 Add the  shredded cheese of top

Cover with plastic wrap and put in

the fridge for at least 1 hour but 4 hours is best

for the flavours of the dressing to blend.

Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

"May the nourishment of the Earth be yours,

May the clarity of the light be yours,

May the fluency of the ocean be yours,

May the protection of the ancestors be yours.

And so may a slow wind work these words of love around you,

an invisible cloak to mind your life."

John O'Donohue

 

 

 

 

 

Baking  continues.....

Bread, Salt and Water...... 
In our 20th century, one of our late Doukhobor leaders,
Peter Vasilyevitch Verigin Lordly in a very concise way
reiterated the meaning of our symbolsthat are ever-
present at Doukhobor services. He said "Bread, Salt
and Water symbolize our basic principle -
"Toil and Peaceful Life."
Bread is present at all of our Prayer Meetings, Weddings, Funerals -  all special occasions.  

Bread, I love baking bread, who doesn't!  My Mom's bread is the best tasting bread  I have eaten - I had tried making it for years and for years we had quite a bit of croutons in the house - it was too heavy, not quite right so I took a break from baking bread.  The year I turned 50 I attempted Mom's Bread again and  I got it right!!   I love the whole process of gathering the ingredients, kneading the dough, for me it is very therapeutic and quite a workout for the upper body.   I remember when I was young living at home - in school still, Mom would be making bread on the weekends and each of girls (3 sisters ) had a job with the making of it.  Mom had a special  wooden bench, made by my Grandfather I believe.  It was the perfect height for the huge (deshka) bowl that was traditionally used for my Mom's bread.  Mom just took some flour, sugar, butter or shortening, salt and warm water and yeast and  always either some whole wheat, ground flax,  or bran was added.   She then had us grease our little hands (so the dough did not stick to them) with some shortening and away we went, kneading away.  Sometimes we each had a turn (we needed to rest) .....what a memory, what a workout....I think that is the reason my upper body is still so strong!  Mom would make many loaves at a time, with this dough she would also make 'bread  pyrohi' filled with  either cottage cheese, potatoes and garlic, sauerkraut or just tomatoes, onion and garlic.  These she would then fry quickly in some hot oil.   So the bread was baked and lunch or dinner was ready as well!



MY MOTHER'S BREAD

  Beautiful, sacred bread.

 Ingredients you will needs,  all purpose unbleached flour, whole wheat flour,

yeast, shortening, salt, vegetable oil and warm water.  Flax (ground), bran can

also be added.

   All the dry ingredients have been added, I like to use

Bread Machine Yeast and add it right to the dry ingredients.

 I take the  bowl and put it in my large sink then add the oil and warm water.

Grease my hands with vegetable shortening and start to knead.

 The dough has been kneaded and now ready to  be covered to rise until double.

Bread is doing it's rise. I ususally set this on my stove with

the light on above it.

Grease loaf pans with either butter or vegetable shortening.

Dough has risen beautifully.

 Punch dough down, gently  and shape into loaves.

Today I made 7 loaves, let rise until double.

Covered, and risen - ready for the oven.

 Bake at 400 for 35-45 minutes.

 RECIPE:

Mom's Bread

14  cups all purpose, unbleached flour

2 cups whole wheat flour

3 rounded serving spoons yeast (4 rounded Tbsp)

1/4 cup sugar

1 Tbsp salt

1/3 cup vegetable/sunflower oil

7 cups warm water (approximate)

Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl.  This is where I decide whether to add ground flax, bran etc.......Add oil,  then water (2 cups at a time),   depending on the humidity I will add more/less water.

  Continue to mix  until dough comes together, it will be sticky - this is where Mom's voice comes in - 'better to be sticky than too firm because your dough will be nice and light'

You can add a handful of flour, and grease your hands with the shortening and

continue kneading for at least 10  minutes, dough will start to come away

from the sides of the bowl. 

Grease bowl, cover dough and let rise

  (now here is my Mom's trick) the first rise is ONLY

20 MINUTES, then knead it down (if you hear a nice popping sound you

know your bread is a winner) cover and let rise again until double.

When dough has doubled, punch down gently and cut and shape into loaves

Put into greased loaf pans and let rise again until double.

Preheat oven to 400 , and bake bread for 35-45 minutes, when you tap the tops

with your knuckles it will sound hollow.

Remove onto rack and let cool - it you can't wait go ahead and slice yourself a

piece and slather it with butter!

Enjoy

 NOTE: if you are wanting to make some Bread Pyrohi for lunch or supper put aside a large loaf pan of the risen bread - do not bake at this time.   I will post the information for this at a later time.

December 9, 2012

 

 

MORE HOLIDAY BAKING ....

  Mushroom Crepes, a favorite of all the family members.....comfort food as I remember my Mother Vera making these each Christmas....we would so look forward to dinner and enjoying these wonderful crepes.  They melt in your mouth with the delicious mushroom flavour and the tanginess of the tomato sauce.

 

 

 

MUSHROOM CREPES

 

 

The finished dish of Mushroom Crepes, ready to be baked

I  will freeze the pans and bake them on Christmas Day.

This is a wonderful dish to make ahead as it freezes wonderfully.

You can either freeze it in the sauce, ready to put in the oven or

freeze the stuffed crepes on a cookie sheet and then take out how

many you need, add the sauce and bake.

 

 

The chopped mushrooms and  chopped onions along with some butter

sauteing in the pan......got  so excited  I had already chopped my ingredients and

forgot to snap a photo.....

I did manage to save the wrapper from the canned sliced mushrooms

I used.  I also added fresh mushrooms chopped finely.

Here are the finely chopped mushrooms waiting to

be added to the sauteed onions and more mushrooms

My own canned tomatoes, cream  and onion

ready to  be made into the sauce for the mushroom crepes.

 

 

Butter is melted, waiting for the chopped onions and garlic to be added

 

 Once they have sauteed for a bit, the tomatoes will be added

 

Mix in the tomatoes, break up some of the larger pieces

 

Add the cream and  bring to a boil, then turn down heat

and simmer

My assembling station

Here you can see the crepes at the top under the foil (I had made these earlier)

Pour some sauce into the baking pan

 

Take a crepe and add a full tablespoon of the mushroom filling

I like lots of filling, but make sure not to overfill or the crepe will break

 

Once you have added the mushroom filling, fold in side of crepe,

then roll up and add to the pan. continue until all filling has been used

then top with the sauce

 

 

Ready for the oven, cover with foil and bake

350 for 30 minutes

Serve with sour cream and a drizzle of butter (cause butter makes everything taste better)

 

RECIPE

 

MUSHROOM CREPES

 

 For the crepe batter:



3/4 cup all purpose flour

1 Tbsp sugar

1 cup milk

3 eggs, beaten

1 Tbsp butter, melted

 

Beat ingredients together and let sit for 20 minutes.

Proceed with making crepes.

Set crepes aside and make filling and sauce.

 

Filling:

1 large onion , chopped finely

3-4 Tbsp butter

2 can sliced mushrooms, drained and chopped

(I use a mixture of both freshly chopped mushrooms and canned)

salt and pepper to taste

1 cup bread crumbs

 

Sauce:

2 - 3 cups canned tomatoes

1/4 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup onion, chopped finely

2 cloves garlic, chopped finely

2 Tbsp butter

 

Saute onion in butter until softened, add chopped garlic and saute 3-4 minutes more.

Add the canned tomatoes, breaking up the larger pieces, simmer for about 10 minutes, add

the cream and bring to a simmer once again.  Turn off heat and set aside.

 

At this point you can either jar the sauce to use later or continue

 

To assemble crepes:

 

   Place a crepe on a flat surface, add a tablespoon of the mushroom filling,  fold

in sides to keep filling from spilling out, roll up and place in baking dish that has been covered

with some of the sauce.

 Continue until all crepes and filling have been used.

Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, removing the foil

for the last 5 minutes of baking.  Serve with sour cream, melted butter.

Enjoy with a green salad.